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Sounders Diagnosed with Acute Schizophrenia

I’m not a doctor, but this isn’t a tricky diagnosis: the Sounders suffer from acute schizophrenia. Sunday’s embarrassing performance only confirmed what we had been suspecting for weeks.

I’m not using the word acute lightly here. We are talking Sybil-like multiple personality disorder. When it is all working, this team looks like the cream of the MLS crop. When it isn’t working, this team looks like MLS bottom dwellers who should have stayed in the USL.

And the crazy thing about this particular brand of craziness is that a schizo episode can happen mid-game.

Take Saturday: the Sounders played embarrassing soccer the first 35 minutes of the first half. Around the 35th minute they seemed to wake up from a soccer nightmare characterized by missed passes, sloppy play and general discord. Their performance got better and better as the match went on culminating in their best soccer of the day being played in the final 10 minutes.

That isn’t meant to be a compliment. Great teams play their best soccer from the first touch. This team has played games like that — but not lately. Their play is better characterized by inconsistency and an uncanny inability to finish.

The one positive thing about this diagnosis is that schizophrenia is very treatable.

They are a talented team capable of great things. The season is not lost (yet) and we can rediscover our better angels at any time.

The first step is to admit you have a problem, and Sigi, Keller and Ljungberg were very frank in their assessment of the team after the game. The next step is doing something about it.

I have always thought that the team was not as good as they looked the first half of the season and they are not as bad as they look now. The challenge is that they are caught in a downward spiral where bad things trigger more bad things (or as Sigi would say they have one foot on a banana peel and one foot in a hole) — and no one seems to be able to stop it.

I’ll be watching for signs of a turn around this week. Winning their first trophy by beating DC on the road for the US Open Cup might be the right antidote for a wicked case of schizophrenia.

Here are some of my thoughts about the game:

Toronto FC

Whatever curse the Sounders suffer from rubbed off on Toronto FC on Saturday. They had several should’ve been goals throughout the game. They looked like an extremely talented team unable to finish and put a teetering opponent away. In other words, they looked a lot like the Sounders.

They played at a frenetic pace in the first half. It wasn’t always the prettiest soccer but it was a swift, attacking style that pushed our defense to the limit.

Their pace slowed considerably in the second half. This may have been strategic or it may have been fatigue. In either case, it allowed the Sounders back in the game.

They play a pretty nasty brand of soccer. There were several hard fouls (like when De Rosario threw Hurtado into the side panel off of the pitch), gratuitous flops and a lot of inappropriate chirping from their head coach to our players. It didn’t lead to serious injury or really affect the outcome of the game, but it was irritating to watch.

De Rosario is very good. That’s all.

Frei did an excellent job. That’s all.

The finishing curse aside, they should be happy with the result. Points on the road matter.

The Sounders

The Sounders played the worst half of soccer at Qwest yet. They were sluggish, ineffective, out of sync and — worst of all — boring. They deserved to be down by at least 2 goals heading into the half. If it weren’t for some aggressive play by Keller and some seriously bad luck by Toronto, they would have lost this game — and deserved it.

This is the third time in a row at home where they have looked bad in the first half. They can’t hope to compete on the road playing only one half of good soccer.

Montero looked terrible all game. This is the second game in a row that he has played extremely poorly. I’m not a Montero hater, but play like this certainly helps the haters’ case.

I was glad to see Sigi pull Montero early in the second half, but I was floored when I looked up and saw Vagenas waiting to replace him. Vagenas just isn’t that good. However, he played well and the team played better from that moment on. Sigi is a good coach.

Ljungberg may be this teams most valuable player, but he is also a fool. He manufactured that yellow card out of thin air. The rough play happened on the opposite end of the field — and he had to sprint to put himself in the middle of the fracas. I appreciate team leadership and standing up for you players as much as the next person, but he knew that he was at his card limit and chose to ignore all reason and act the fool. It hurts the team when they need him most.

No one played very well. That’s all.

Le Toux has a major finishing problem. That’s all.

The Sounders are now on the verge of missing the playoffs (check their chances here). And it is because we have had one too many games like this at home (of all places).

I was glad to hear Sigi talk honestly about the performance of the team after the match. He seems to have a firm understanding of how poorly they played. Now it is time for him to step up and change things. The league has adjusted to the Sounders and has figured out how to beat them; it is time for him to counter adjust. For the sake of the team and the season: do it.

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

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Simon MoyseBorn in London, Simon joined the Emerald City Supporters after he moved to Snohomish in 2004. He watches games with his son Elliott.